The present invention relates to compasses for vehicles.
Many current automotive vehicles include compasses, together with a display indicating to the driver a current geographic heading. Other types of vehicles, such as aircraft, balloons, ships, missiles and snowmobiles, also include compasses. Several types of compass sensors have been successfully employed, including fluxgate, suspended magnetized needle, and magnetometer technologies.
Generally, the primary challenge in successfully implementing a compass with the desired accuracy is the external magnetic anomalies generated by the vehicle itself. These magnetic anomalies are typically created by such things as the surrounding metal of the vehicle itself, active electronics, electrical motors and the vehicle power plant.